Family Time: Sleep deprivation is a serious health risk

Tuesday

Weekly family rail, with tips on how to beat insomnia, a review of “Bliss” and more.

Tip of the Week

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that somewhere between 50 million and 70 million adults in the United States have chronic sleep and wakefulness disorders.

According to the National Institutes of Health, sleep disorders account for approximately $16 billion in annual health care costs, and Cornell University psychologist and sleep expert James Maas estimates that sleep deprivation and sleep disorders cost the American economy at least $150 billion a year.

Sleep deprivation is not only costly, but dangerous too. After a review of national behavioral health data, the CDC found that one in 20 adults reported nodding off or falling asleep while driving at least once in 30 days. Short-term sleep loss can lead to slower reaction times, headaches, aches and pains, irritability, shorter attention span and hindered decision making.

Consider the following sleep tips:

- Think of a relaxing place: Go on a virtual trip in your mind by picturing a place from childhood. Trace the roads and paths of this region until you arrive at a certain place. Usually, you'll be sleeping before you arrive at your destination.

- Expose yourself to bright lights when you wake up: Exposure to bright light early in the morning, typically for 30 to 40 minutes, has been shown to promote healthy habits and a good night's sleep.

- Change your pillow: The ideal pillow is one that helps you maintain natural alignment between your neck, head and spine as you shift positions during the night. Because people tend to change sleeping positions at multiple times during the night, finding the right pillow is not always easy. A waterbase pillow is a good solution, because the water gently disperses and fills the region between your shoulder and jaw, to maintain proper cervical support - no matter what position you sleep in.

- Establish a routine: By keeping a regular bedtime, your body becomes trained to ritually wind down and speed up, thus bringing on sleep more consistently. Consider avoiding daytime naps, as they may alter your body's natural sleep cycle. Abstaining from naps helps to keep the body on schedule.

- ARA

Family Movie Night

“The Three Stooges”

Rated: PG

Length: 1:35

Synopsis: The popular trio is resurrected by the Farrelly brothers in this new comedy.

Violence/scary rating: 3

Sexual-content rating: 2

Profanity rating: 2

Drugs/alcohol rating: 2

Family Time rating: 2.5. The cartoonish Stooges return to the screen in a decent family film.

(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)

Book Report

"Bliss," by Kathryn Littlewood

Ages: 8-12

Pages: 384

Synopsis: Rosemary Bliss’s family has a secret. It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke — an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, nonmagical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily — a lot less fun. So Rose and her siblings experiment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke. A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn’t cause too much trouble, could they? Kathryn Littlewood’s culinary caper blends rich emotional flavor with truly magical wit, yielding one heaping portion of hilarious family adventure. - HarperCollins Publishers

Did You Know

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accidental deaths among children have dropped 30 percent since 2000.

GateHouse News Service

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